Illustration of macaque
: any of a genus (Macaca) of chiefly Asian monkeys typically having a sturdy build and including some short-tailed or tailless forms
especially
: rhesus monkey
Examples of macaque in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The monkeys stop to drink the water in the footage, and then more macaques appear – including a larger monkey and another carrying a baby.
—
Raven Brunner, People.com, 20 Mar. 2025
An adult macaque’s intestines can be over a dozen feet long, and weigh a good deal more than a ball of yarn.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 3 Mar. 2025
The separation imposed by Wallace’s Line has shaped their behaviors, as well; while crab-eating macaques are opportunistic and often raid crops and human settlements, booted macaques remain more reclusive, relying on the secluded resources of Sulawesi’s forests.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
To examine whether macaques possess the ability to learn such associations, the team played the animals a variety of sounds—either human words or monkey vocalizations—and followed each sound with a specific image on a screen.
—Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 12 Feb. 2025
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Raven Brunner, People.com, 20 Mar. 2025
An adult macaque’s intestines can be over a dozen feet long, and weigh a good deal more than a ball of yarn.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 3 Mar. 2025
The separation imposed by Wallace’s Line has shaped their behaviors, as well; while crab-eating macaques are opportunistic and often raid crops and human settlements, booted macaques remain more reclusive, relying on the secluded resources of Sulawesi’s forests.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
To examine whether macaques possess the ability to learn such associations, the team played the animals a variety of sounds—either human words or monkey vocalizations—and followed each sound with a specific image on a screen.
—Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for macaque
Cite this Entry
“Macaque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/macaque. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
: any of various monkeys mostly from Asia that includes some with either short or no tails
especially
: rhesus monkey
Etymology
French, from Portuguese macaco, from makaku, plural of kaku, name for an African monkey in one or more Bantu languages of Gabon and Congo
Medical Definition
: any of numerous short-tailed Old World monkeys of the genus Macaca and related genera chiefly of southern Asia
especially
: rhesus monkey
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